what rarely happened, was himself killed. At the end of some two or three days, having, thanks to the Bangala, collected nearly all the canoes (which we broke up for firewood) in the swamps, we proceeded on our way, and the launch returned to Stanley Pool. Almost daily when, owing to sandbanks or other obstructions in the river, we had to approach the bank, we were fired at by the natives, who, however, seemed to have very few guns; and as their arrows usually either fell short or stuck in the sun-deck overhead, no one was wounded.

At night the woodcutters were on several occasions attacked, or had their axes stolen by the natives, who were on the watch for anything they could pilfer. While steaming up the Kasai one day at noon, the air was suddenly darkened by bats in such numbers that the crew of the steamer